DRINKING WATER

GettyImages-621393082 The Power Of Ductile Iron Pipe: A Solution For Every Application

Ductile iron pipe is a versatile, reliable solution that resists UV degradation, freezing, and physical stress. Its unmatched durability ensures long-term performance in any piping application.

DRINKING WATER CASE STUDIES AND WHITE PAPERS

  • Connecticut Water Utility Successfully Removes 45% Of Trihalomethanes (THMs)

    While the addition of chlorine is one of the safest and most effective means for water disinfection, under certain circumstances chlorine in combination with naturally occurring organic compounds in water can lead to the formation of undesirable disinfection byproducts (DBPs).

  • Water Acquisition Challenges For Industrial Plants

    Water is becoming more complex for industry. Its cost as a component of production is on the rise, and greater regulatory scrutiny continues to expand post-process wastewater treatment. Against a backdrop of growing water scarcity, industrial leaders are focusing more time and energy into leveraging water acquisition and usage to their competitive advantage. The days when access to water was taken for granted are over. In fact, by 2030 global water demand is projected to exceed available water by 40 percent.

  • Winning Strategies For Smart Cities, Smart Water, And Water Reuse

    Every city facing infrastructure or operational challenges or concerns about maintaining quality of life in the face of population growth or a changing environment has benefits to gain from a unified smart-city approach. Here are some concepts for promoting understanding and acceptance among utility and government decision-makers, plus several examples of benefits already being garnered by smart cities large and small.

  • Battery Operated Magmeter Provides Reliable Flow Rate Measurements In Remote Areas

    A municipal water district had questioned the accuracy of their water meter readings and, after testing, they found that the billing amounts were too low. Discover the solution that they chose to provide reliable flow rate measurement. 

  • The Lead And Copper Rule: ArcGIS Helps To Meet Updated Requirements

    The Lead and Copper Rule is a National Primary Drinking Water Regulation under the Safe Drinking Water Act. Its purpose is to reduce lead and copper at the tap in drinking water provided by regulated public water systems. On December 22, 2020, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) finalized the first major update to the Lead and Copper Rule since it was initially enacted in 1991.

  • Pollution Early-Warning Technology Chosen By Anglian Water

    Anglian Water has become the first utility to adopt new cloud-based technology to detect rising main sewer bursts. The UK utility is implementing early-warning system BurstDetect, as part of its drive to eliminate serious pollution events in its region by 2025.

  • Unlocking The Flow: The Transformative Value Of Meter Data Management For Water Utilities

    MDM systems transform raw meter data into actionable intelligence, enhancing operational efficiency, driving proactive leak detection, improving billing accuracy, and supporting vital water conservation initiatives.

  • Alternatives To Pump Alternation Schemes Using Advanced Level Controllers

    This article will focus on the pump control functionality of advanced level controllers and how they can help to optimize your process.

  • Assessing Key Unconventional Shale Wastewater Trends And Opportunities

    The shale-gas boom could make water the most important commodity product of the 21st century.

  • Temperature Monitoring Provides Additional Checks On Microbiological Conditions

    Effective control of the microbiological environment in water distribution systems is one of the biggest keys to providing a healthy product. When it comes to processes for achieving this, the U.S. can some take lessons from Europe, where utilities are more likely to monitor temperature. Advanced flow metering technology that incorporates temperature monitoring provides a significant tool for utilities without the need for additional instruments.

DRINKING WATER APPLICATION NOTES

DRINKING WATER PRODUCTS

LC (Low Concentrations) Model Designed to treat low concentrations (<20 µg/l) of PFAS contaminated water from construction dewatering activities, and other short to medium-term treatment requirements. These systems manage a range of flow rates up to 100 GPM (6 L/sec) and include pre-treatment.

RR (Rapid Response) Model The RR Models can be shipped and assembled quickly; ideal for rapid response situations. Models come in several sizes and can be configured in series or parallel to accommodate higher flow rates or additional treatment options. The small footprint and simple design allows for rapid deployment of PFAS treatment.

CyanoFluor is a dual-channel handheld fluorometer designed for harmful algal bloom monitoring. By measuring chlorophyll-a and phycocyanin simultaneously, it differentiates cyanobacteria from other phytoplankton with precision. Portable, factory calibrated, and easy to use, CyanoFluor supports early detection, rapid assessment, and ongoing monitoring of blooms, protecting ecosystems, aquaculture, and drinking water supplies from the impacts of toxic algae.

ADVANCE™ Series 200 gas feeders are designed for or automatic gas regulation. Automatic operation requires a simple addition of a motorized control valve.

The original OptiFiber® pile cloth media is specifically engineered for water and wastewater applications and designed to maximize solids removal over a wide range of particle sizes. Deep, thick, pile fibers capture particles for the most effective depth filtration.

At 120Water, we take the weight off the shoulders of our clients. From expert guidance and best practices to a proven activation process, we help ensure your program achieves ongoing success.

The WATERFLUX ,3300 is an electromagnetic flowmeter (EMF) for demanding water applications and custody transfer operations (MID MI-001, OIML R49; MI-004). The high-end meter is particularly suitable for applications requiring high accuracy and extensive diagnostics. With its rectangular and reduced cross-section the EMF enables a stable measurement even at low flow rates. This way, the WATERFLUX ,3300 offers a much larger turndown ratio (1000:1) than mechanical flowmeters (e.g. turbine meters) in drinking water distribution networks.

LATEST INSIGHTS ON DRINKING WATER

DRINKING WATER VIDEOS

The Orange County Water District (OCWD) has long been an innovative leader in indirect potable reuse. An integral component of its Groundwater Replenishment System (GWRS) – a 100 million gallon per day advanced water purification facility – is reverse osmosis membrane technology.

After rising public pressure and lawsuits over health concerns, the city of Newark, New Jersey (a half-hour from New York City) is undertaking one of the most ambitious and impactful infrastructure projects in the country: replacing all of its residential lead service lines within 2 years.

Nick Dugan is an environmental engineer working in EPA's Cincinnati laboratory. He is currently focused on bench-scale trials evaluating the impact of common drinking water treatment oxidants on intact, toxin-producing cyanobacterial cells over a range of water quality conditions.

Water and energy are inextricably linked, yet in our 20th-century water systems we use freshwater once then throw it away. With innovations designed to enhance desalination technologies, agricultural runoff, produced water from industry, and inland brackish groundwater that are now seen as untreatable could all be sources of clean, safe, and affordable water.

In the water-scarce desert Southwest, the agricultural, urban and environmental sectors are constantly competing for limited water. So how do you handle the fact that each stakeholder within those sectors wants something different in a water management strategy, for now and for the future?

ABOUT DRINKING WATER

In most developed countries, drinking water is regulated to ensure that it meets drinking water quality standards. In the U.S., the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) administers these standards under the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA)

Drinking water considerations can be divided into three core areas of concern:

  1. Source water for a community’s drinking water supply
  2. Drinking water treatment of source water
  3. Distribution of treated drinking water to consumers

Drinking Water Sources

Source water access is imperative to human survival. Sources may include groundwater from aquifers, surface water from rivers and streams and seawater through a desalination process. Direct or indirect water reuse is also growing in popularity in communities with limited access to sources of traditional surface or groundwater. 

Source water scarcity is a growing concern as populations grow and move to warmer, less aqueous climates; climatic changes take place and industrial and agricultural processes compete with the public’s need for water. The scarcity of water supply and water conservation are major focuses of the American Water Works Association.

Drinking Water Treatment

Drinking Water Treatment involves the removal of pathogens and other contaminants from source water in order to make it safe for humans to consume. Treatment of public drinking water is mandated by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in the U.S. Common examples of contaminants that need to be treated and removed from water before it is considered potable are microorganisms, disinfectants, disinfection byproducts, inorganic chemicals, organic chemicals and radionuclides.

There are a variety of technologies and processes that can be used for contaminant removal and the removal of pathogens to decontaminate or treat water in a drinking water treatment plant before the clean water is pumped into the water distribution system for consumption.

The first stage in treating drinking water is often called pretreatment and involves screens to remove large debris and objects from the water supply. Aeration can also be used in the pretreatment phase. By mixing air and water, unwanted gases and minerals are removed and the water improves in color, taste and odor.

The second stage in the drinking water treatment process involves coagulation and flocculation. A coagulating agent is added to the water which causes suspended particles to stick together into clumps of material called floc. In sedimentation basins, the heavier floc separates from the water supply and sinks to form sludge, allowing the less turbid water to continue through the process.

During the filtration stage, smaller particles not removed by flocculation are removed from the treated water by running the water through a series of filters. Filter media can include sand, granulated carbon or manufactured membranes. Filtration using reverse osmosis membranes is a critical component of removing salt particles where desalination is being used to treat brackish water or seawater into drinking water.

Following filtration, the water is disinfected to kill or disable any microbes or viruses that could make the consumer sick. The most traditional disinfection method for treating drinking water uses chlorine or chloramines. However, new drinking water disinfection methods are constantly coming to market. Two disinfection methods that have been gaining traction use ozone and ultra-violet (UV) light to disinfect the water supply.

Drinking Water Distribution

Drinking water distribution involves the management of flow of the treated water to the consumer. By some estimates, up to 30% of treated water fails to reach the consumer. This water, often called non-revenue water, escapes from the distribution system through leaks in pipelines and joints, and in extreme cases through water main breaks.

A public water authority manages drinking water distribution through a network of pipes, pumps and valves and monitors that flow using flow, level and pressure measurement sensors and equipment.

Water meters and metering systems such as automatic meter reading (AMR) and advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) allows a water utility to assess a consumer’s water use and charge them for the correct amount of water they have consumed.